THE ETHICAL QUESTIONS AROUND BACKGROUND CHECKS

An important factor to any company’s growth is hiring new people.  When you have potential new employees lined up in the hiring process, what do you look for in them? The answer may vary depending on what sort of business you run or help manage. Regardless I believe the two core principles every company looks for in a new employee are: Reliability and Trustworthiness. This is why running background checks on all applicants is crucial to the success and future of a company.  It also raises a whole slew of questions within the realm of ethical and moral decision making.

When running a background check a good number of folks may come back with a clean record and hold no criminal offenses. Others may hold a different story. Below are two different scenarios that you may just come across. In the first scenario, imagine you are working for a hospital and need to hire more people to handle the increase in patients seeking treatment or care. While sifting through the applicants, you may find one or more candidates that rise up from the others. After you run a background check, you may discover this applicant, with much potential, has a long history of drug offenses and aggravated assault towards police officers. The answer, for some, may be clear that you may not want to hire such an individual. Some companies hold zero tolerance policies. This is understandable.  The wellbeing of your current staff and patients could be put in jeopardy. Other employers may seek to give the person a chance and put them on a probationary employment period. In another scenario, imagine you are looking to hire an induvial for a janitorial position and he/she has just one hit in their background check. The one record includes details that stating the applicant once ignored a stop sign 5 years ago and got fined for it.  Where do you think he or she stands in the hiring process? The answer for both of these, while they differ, are not as clear cut and easy to answer as one may think.

Both of these scenarios create an ethical dilemma and put you, the employer, in a tough spot. Do you only hire folks with a clean record? Do give them a chance, despite having a not so perfect record? Is the answer different if the criminal record is minor or major? Is having any type of criminal record a legitimate reason to turn down an applicant and not hire them? It’s important to take in consideration the laws and regulations surrounding the EEOC. The EEOC encourages employers to look at how recent the crimes occurred and if they are directly related to the positon in question. It is also important to maintain full compliance with Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations when conducting employee screening.

Whenever you make such employment decisions, it’s important to think out the decision carefully and have accurate and clear information on the applicant. Here at Rapid Results Backgrounds Check Solutions, we strive to provide the speedy and reliable information on any potential applicants you may have lined up. In doing so, we can help you see your vision of a prosperous and successful company.